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NATO concerned about consequences of Turkey’s S-400 acquisition - CNN

NATO is concerned about the potential ramifications of Turkey’s decision to acquire Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles, a NATO official told CNN on Friday.

The comments came after Turkey’ Defence Ministry announced that the first batch of S-400 components arrived at an airbase near Ankara.

"It is up to allies to decide what military equipment they buy. However, we are concerned about the potential consequences of Turkey's decision to acquire the S-400 system,” the official said, citing concerns about the potential effect of the Russian missiles on NATO’s interoperability.

Turkey risks expulsion from the programme to help build F-35 advanced fighter jets and U.S. sanctions by going ahead with the delivery of the S-400s.

Turkey will receive two more shipments of S-400 components in the coming days and 80 members of the Turkish military will receive training in Russia in the next two months in addition to 20 servicemen who underwent training in May and June, according to Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency.